Manufacture of soap



T. M. GODFREY.

MANUFCTURE 0F SOAP.

APPLICATION FILED 1AN.25,|919.

'Patented Apr. 25, 1922.

Smfuemhoz `'unique fluffy a I UNITED` STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ILLINOIS, AssIGNCIz. 'ro THE N. K. rAIRBAN-x JERSEY, A 'conronATIoN F NEW JERSEY.

MANUFACTURE OF SOAP.

Specification of Iietters Patent. i Patented Alu- 25, 1922 Application led January 25,1919.. Serial No. 273,115.

To all wm tima/.y camera l Be it known that I,.TRUMAN M. GoDFRiiY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook,- State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements .in the Manufacture of Soap; and I do hereby declare-the following to be a full, clear, and exact. description of the invention,I such v as will enable others skilled in` the art towhich it appertains to make and ,use the same.

The .present invention relates to the production of soap, intended principally for Iau'ndrypand toilet purposes, of such a char# acter thatl it is iuickly soluble and of a n attractive appearance,

` presenting a characteristic delicacy of strucratus may be varied from the invention.

-as -will introduce into and `throughout` the mass, a well l' distributed' air bubbles. while -stillin` the viscous molten conditionV ture and whiteness of color peculiarly acceptable to market conditions. The main characteristic or leading feature of the inventionconsists iii entrapping within a body of soap while in a viscous molten condition a disseminated body of bubbles of air; and, thereupon, expanding the air bubbles by 4lowering the .pressure which prevailed duringthe aeration of the mass. vAnvother characteristicv is the novel product represented by the fluffy nec'ted soap particles.

In order that my invention may be'more aggregate of conclearly understood, I have illustrated in.

the accompanying drawing, two forms of apparatus adapted for employmentin carrying vout the method. It is tobe understood, however, that the details pf the appawithoiit departing In the drawing, Fig. 1 is anelevat'ion illustrating one' form of apparatus; and Fig. 2 is a similar elevation illustrating` another and slightly diffe-renti form vof apparatus. e

The new product may be made from any usual soap stock, either toilet or laundry,

.this stock first being aerated, while in Va suitlable viscous molten condition,

by a mixing or crutching operation of such a character disseminate large quantity 4of The mass,

is thensubjected to a vacuum (or al greatly diminished pressure) whereupon the air ven trappedin the viscous mass expands;` and causes-the soap to rise, greatly increasing its volumeand causing it to assume an ape crutcher, and mar pearance not unlike very light bread, or, if

the diminution in pressure is extreme, causing' it to assume an appearance similar to a stiff lather. As soon as the mass has cooled to' room temperature, the normal air pressureis admitted, and the product may be readilyvbroken up into the desired size for packing; which may be either in the 4condition of lumps, flakes or"'powder.

The extent of the puing of the soap characteristic of the invention .may be controlled by varying the degree of aeration, and also by varying the degree of reduction' of the air pressure during the period of subsequent expansion of the bubbles; that is to say, the more thorough the preliminary aeratingoperation, and the more uniform the-distribution of the air bubbles, the more effective and complete will be the subsequent expansion, and, furthermore, the more complete the vacuum, the greater will be the puffing effect.

The moisture content of theI finished product. isof importance inasmuch as a soap which is moist and sticky tends to mat tof gether easily upon handling.y Accordingly. if the puffed soap contains an excess of moisture, this excess may conveniently be driven off by leaving the puffed soap under vacuum until it is brought to the desired condition of dryness.

No specially designed machinery will be required for the practice of the invention. Thusthe soap'may be aerated in an ordinary then be run intoja tank which can be made air-tight and connected up with any suitable exhausterfor producing the required vacuum; or, the aerating or crutching machinery may be contained directly within the tank, so that the soap will not need to bevtransferr'ed therefrom after aerating. It will, of course, be understood that-the same results may -be accomplished by aerating the soap `under super-atmospheric pressure, and then releasing the pressure until-atmospheric pressureis reached. The essential characteristics of the invention, in other words, consist inv thepreliminary entrapping and dissemination ofthe air bub-4 bles throughout the molten viscous mass, and

the subsequent expansion of the air bubbles, whichl depends entirelyupon the relative v pressures prevailing-'before and after expansion; for instance, a soap could be. puffed to the same extent were it aerated under 5 iio ' the highly porous atmospheres pressure and released to atmospheric pressure, as if it were areated at atmospheric pressure and evacuated to onefifth of an atmolsphere pressure.

Referring to iig. 1 of the drawing, 1 indlcates a crutcher of usual form and construction and having stirring or beating means (not shown) adaptedl to be driven through a beveled gear 2 and cooperating inion 3 from a shaft lathe latter being provided, for example, with a pulley 5 whereby the shaft is connected to a source of power. The crutcher is provided at its bottom with a closure 6 through which the material treated is released at the conclusion of the crutching operation. A vacuum tank 7 is disposed preferably beneath the crutcher and is provided with a movable cover adapted to seal the tank against ingress of air. A vacuum pump 9 is connected to the tank 7 by a pi e 10, a` suitable valve 11 being provided in the pipe 10.

As a specific example of the novel operation proposed, a quantity of molten Soap is introduced in the crutcher 1 and thoroughly crutchedV until air is disseminated through out the mass. When the crutching operating is complete, the closure 6 is opened and the cover 8, having been previously removed, the soap drops into the tank 7. The cover 8 is then replaced and the vacuum pump 9 is started to pull a suitable vacuum on the tank and thus withdraw air from above the soap and cause the air crutched into the soap to expand, with resulting production of puffed soap. The soap is allowed to remain in the tank 7 until it has cooled to substantially room temperature, when the pressure is permitted to return to atmospheric and the cover 8 is removed. The soap thus treated will be found to have been puffed to a point which renders Y it a fiuffy aggregate of connected soap parlticles which have a more or less crystalline appearance. 'The'material may perhaps be best described by the term-solidified lather.

In Fig. 2 of the drawing, the apparatus is substantially similar except for a slight modification of' the crutcher 12 which is provided with stirrers or beaters (not shown) driven through a beveled gear 13 land beveled pinion 14. from the shaft 15. vA pressure pump 17 is connected by a pipe 18, havlng a valve 19, to the crutcher 12 -so that the crutching operation may be carried out under a super-normal pressure. A closure 20 1s provided at the bottom of the crutcher 12' and an open tank: or soap frame 21 is 1bizwreferably disposed beneath the crutcher to receive the product therefrom when the closure 20 is opened.

The method as applied in this apparatus is substantially similar to the vmethod last described. The molten soap is first introduced into the crutcher 12 and is then thoroughly When the crutching operation is complete,

the closure 20 isopened and the soap flows into the tank or soap frame 21. This permits the compressed air crutched into the soap to expand, and the soap is permitted. to cool, so that there is produced a product similar to that above described, and made up of a fluffy aggregate of soap particles.

The pufed soap made in accordance with the invention has the advantage that the soap is rendered very quickly soluble because of the greater amount of surface exposed by the thin cell walls separating the air bubbles. These cell walls are of surprising thinness and delicacy and'dissolve almost instantly in warm water. So, also, as hereinbefore indicated the color of the soap is greatly improved because the innumerable evenly distributed tiny air bubbles cause the puffed soap to appear decidedly whiter than the ori ance o the puffed soap is particularly atT tractive, its delicate luiness being suggestive of lather. By drying the puffed soap to the correct degree, a powder or flake may be easily produced by merely crushing to the desired ineness. v

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. The method of treating soap, which comprises disseminating a multitude of air bubbles throughout the soap while the soap is in a molten viscous condition and then diminishing the` pressure under which the aeration took place so as to expand the air bubbles within the mass of soap, and permitting the puffed mass thus produced to cool; substantially' as described.

2. The method of treating soap, which comprises disseminating a multitude of air bubbles throughout the soap while the soap is in a molten viscous condition and then diminishing the pressure under which 'the aeration took place vso as to expand the air bubbles within the ma of soap, permitting the puffed mass thus produced to cool and driving olf vany exce moisture present so as to bring the product to the desired degree ofl dryness; substantially as described.'I

3. The- 'method of treating soap, which comprises disseminating a multitude of air bubbles throughout the soap while the soap 1s 1n a molten viscous condition and then diminishing the pressure under which the aeration took place so as to expand the air bubbles within the ma of soap, permitting .action of trapped air in the viscous mass eXp-ands, and coolingthe puffedv mass so as to obtain a 4. The method of treating soap, which comprises vdisseminating a multitude of air bubbles through. the soapby a crutching operation while the same is 1n a viscous molten condition,v and then mlbjecting the ma to the action of a vacuum, whereupon the entrapped air in the viscous mass expands; and cooling the puffed mass so as to obtain a product of cellular structure with thin cell Walls substantially; as described.

5.\The method of treating soap', vwhich comprises disseminating a multitude of airbubbles through the soap by a crutching operation While the same is in a viscous molten then subjecting the mass to the a vacuum, whereupon the encondition,

.product of cellularwalls,

, product has been brought to the desired conp of dryness; substantially as described.

dition 6. As a' new article of manufacture, Soap in the form of a fluffy aggregate of minute cells filled with air and having extremely thin connected Walls said soap being substantially instantly soluble in warm water. 'Y

7. As a new article of manufacture, soap fiake or powder consisting of a crushed fluffy aggregate of minute cells, having extremely thin connected Walls which are formed by the soap', said soap being sub.- s'ta-ntially instantly In testimony whereof I affix my s1 nature. lTRUVMArN M. GODF EY.

formed by the soap,'

soluble in warm water. 

